He's the new kid and he already thinks he knows how Jess'll act! I've been
her friend for many years, but she still surprises me. More than anything,
Baka needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut. -Janua's Log
While they were talking, Prat noticed that the two friends from the other YT weren't looking at any of the Vornskr crewmembers. He didn't want to appear paranoid by looking over his shoulder constantly, so he casually excused himself and headed toward the refresher. When he was almost there, he stopped and leaned against an empty wall. From there, he had an unobstructed view of the whole restaurant, except for customers that were constantly getting up and down. There was one man that kept his gaze on the crew and kept navigating through the crowd to get closer to their table, which was near the back of the room. He was definitely where their eyes rested. The closer he got, the more nervous Mirishi and Jarvey got until they stood up, rushed through farewells, and slipped over to their own booth. Prat strolled back to his table and took his seat just as the mysterious man reached the group.
"Hello," he said as he took Mirishi's seat across from Jess Jess. "I heard you were a talented shipping company." His voice was harsh and clipped, precise, as if he was trained to speak without accent or contraction. Had she been more experienced with this kind of person, Jess Jess might have known how dangerous he could be.
Jess Jess's eyes flicked from side to side to each member of her company. She then looked at the stranger. "Okeeday," she cautiously said. "What would you like us to do?"
"I have a shipment I need to get to a colony at the coordinates I will provide. As long as everything arrives sealed and intact, my friend there will pay well. Security is tight; pirates have been trying to get in to steal supplies. You will need to tell them my name to receive an approach vector." He paused and showed a predatory grin. "Will you take the job?"
Baka eagerly replied, speaking for his employer, "We've got nothing better to do." Ten surprised eyes turned toward him, six quickly turning enraged.
Jess Jess spoke with more than an edge in her voice. "Excuse him, he's new to C.S.S. What are you offering?"
"Two thousand initial deposit and at least ten thousand upon arrival, depending on what my friend thinks."
"We can do it in three days."
The secretive man shifted in his seat, ready to leave. "Then I will find another crew. This is somewhat urgent."
"I guess we can put that off a while," Jess Jess reluctantly countered. She really would have liked to get the guys' cabin repainted before they went anywhere, as would Prat, but they did need another job.
"I'll meet you at your docking bay, which is..."
"Building 127 number 89."
"In two hours with my shipment." To that, Jess Jess nodded. The man hadn't even told them his name, but they were going to take his stuff to a colony. It was also quite disturbing that he seemed to know quite a bit about them, but they knew nothing of him. Then he left to ready his shipment.
Prat recovered his voice first after the alarming encounter. "Did anyone notice that Mirishi and Jarvey were scared of him?" Shocked and questioning faces turned toward him.
"You spent the least amount of time talking to them! How would you know?" Elibex protested.
"But you didn't notice that they weren't looking at any of you when they were talking. They were watching what's-his-name. And they moved away right as he reached the table." Noise from countless other conversations filled their ears as they each thought about this new information. The two people from the other YT-1300 had already left.
Jess Jess changed the subject to address another matter. "Baka, until you know me better, please don't answer for me." She was clearly quite annoyed.
"But that's what we did anyway..."
"I have an assignment for you as soon as we get back that I was going to give you now."
"What?" he asked excitedly, his eyes widening and a smile appearing on his face.
Prat grinned merrily. "For that, I expect you'll have to wait until we have more time on our hands." Most of the others laughed at that suspenseful statement.
Then the waitress finally came with their dinner of grazer and gorrnt.
Baka needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut. -Janua's Log
While they were talking, Prat noticed that the two friends from the other YT weren't looking at any of the Vornskr crewmembers. He didn't want to appear paranoid by looking over his shoulder constantly, so he casually excused himself and headed toward the refresher. When he was almost there, he stopped and leaned against an empty wall. From there, he had an unobstructed view of the whole restaurant, except for customers that were constantly getting up and down. There was one man that kept his gaze on the crew and kept navigating through the crowd to get closer to their table, which was near the back of the room. He was definitely where their eyes rested. The closer he got, the more nervous Mirishi and Jarvey got until they stood up, rushed through farewells, and slipped over to their own booth. Prat strolled back to his table and took his seat just as the mysterious man reached the group.
"Hello," he said as he took Mirishi's seat across from Jess Jess. "I heard you were a talented shipping company." His voice was harsh and clipped, precise, as if he was trained to speak without accent or contraction. Had she been more experienced with this kind of person, Jess Jess might have known how dangerous he could be.
Jess Jess's eyes flicked from side to side to each member of her company. She then looked at the stranger. "Okeeday," she cautiously said. "What would you like us to do?"
"I have a shipment I need to get to a colony at the coordinates I will provide. As long as everything arrives sealed and intact, my friend there will pay well. Security is tight; pirates have been trying to get in to steal supplies. You will need to tell them my name to receive an approach vector." He paused and showed a predatory grin. "Will you take the job?"
Baka eagerly replied, speaking for his employer, "We've got nothing better to do." Ten surprised eyes turned toward him, six quickly turning enraged.
Jess Jess spoke with more than an edge in her voice. "Excuse him, he's new to C.S.S. What are you offering?"
"Two thousand initial deposit and at least ten thousand upon arrival, depending on what my friend thinks."
"We can do it in three days."
The secretive man shifted in his seat, ready to leave. "Then I will find another crew. This is somewhat urgent."
"I guess we can put that off a while," Jess Jess reluctantly countered. She really would have liked to get the guys' cabin repainted before they went anywhere, as would Prat, but they did need another job.
"I'll meet you at your docking bay, which is..."
"Building 127 number 89."
"In two hours with my shipment." To that, Jess Jess nodded. The man hadn't even told them his name, but they were going to take his stuff to a colony. It was also quite disturbing that he seemed to know quite a bit about them, but they knew nothing of him. Then he left to ready his shipment.
Prat recovered his voice first after the alarming encounter. "Did anyone notice that Mirishi and Jarvey were scared of him?" Shocked and questioning faces turned toward him.
"You spent the least amount of time talking to them! How would you know?" Elibex protested.
"But you didn't notice that they weren't looking at any of you when they were talking. They were watching what's-his-name. And they moved away right as he reached the table." Noise from countless other conversations filled their ears as they each thought about this new information. The two people from the other YT-1300 had already left.
Jess Jess changed the subject to address another matter. "Baka, until you know me better, please don't answer for me." She was clearly quite annoyed.
"But that's what we did anyway..."
"I have an assignment for you as soon as we get back that I was going to give you now."
"What?" he asked excitedly, his eyes widening and a smile appearing on his face.
Prat grinned merrily. "For that, I expect you'll have to wait until we have more time on our hands." Most of the others laughed at that suspenseful statement.
Then the waitress finally came with their dinner of grazer and gorrnt.